Design Indaba 2014: Where chicken and buses collide beautifully

The hills may be alive with the sound of music, but the mountain is alive with the creative clamour of design. As World Design Capital 2014 (WDC 2014), Cape Town is the setting for a year long programme of design-related deliciousness and this week welcomed artists and designers from across the globe to feast in the annual Design Indaba.

The new MyCiti Bus is changing the way people navigate and interact with their city.

As World Design Capital 2014 Cape Town is deliciously drenched in design at the moment.

My personal crusade to elevate Nik Naks to the same status as curry in the UK may not (yet) have succeeded, but fortunately Nando’s has had better luck affording me at least some sense of food related national pride. But here’s a fun fact you may not be aware of: did you know that Nando’s houses the largest collection of South African art in the UK with over 3000 pieces in its restaurants? Well blow me down with a chicken feather! That’s kinda cool, I think. And explains why Nando’s is one of the exhibitors at this year’s Design Indaba (DI) Expo which opens to the public today, Friday 28 February, and runs until Sunday 2 March at the Cape Town International Convention centre.

Naturally it’s not all about the big names. Taking the leap from sideline hobby to profitable business venture is not for chickens but the entrepreneurial spirit is certainly alive and well given how many talented designers I spoke with are using the DI expo as their launch platform.

Tatjana Buisson, already a successful graphic designer who has achieved some notoriety through her Postcard Happiness project – which, given my own personal #GoPostal mission appeals no end – is exhibiting at the DI Expo for the first time. Her adhesive postcard backing stickers, Postick, are already popular in several countries abroad including the Netherlands and China but she’s looking to expand their reach to more of Europe.

Freelance interior designer Simone Biggs is also a first time exhibitor and, like so many designers in South Africa, is launching a product with a social upliftment element. Her interactive EDU chair uses a system of blocks and brightly coloured rope to become a multi-funtional learning aid for children.

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A DI Expo installation explains how the new MyCiti Bus is changing the way people navigate and interact with their city.

For me it is this sense of social, rather than purely aesthetic, enterprise that really makes South African and African design so inspiring. The array of beautiful jewellery and vibrant prints is totally delicious – I confess I fell in love with Anomali’s exquisite fairytale pendents made from repurposed silverware – but how wonderful to be able to visit an installation that shares the story of Cape Town’s new MyCiti Bus system, or to buy a pair of pyjama bottoms that are really just a fashionable front for an initiative to curb the spread of malaria. From the Design Indaba Conference to the PechaKucha style presentations by emerging talents, the intersection of design and social conscience across the physical, digital and spiritual landscapes is hot on the agenda.

And speaking of hot, in a city practically dripping in design at the moment few will have missed the somewhat heated debate over the new City of Cape Town logo which was approved by DA majority council vote on Wednesday. Personally I rather like it and understand the rationale behind the update but others are not as impressed – not least the ANC which is now seeking a court interdict to prevent the logo being implemented on the grounds of it being a waste of money. W’evah, *cough* Nkandla *cough.

Debate will perhaps be put aside this evening, however, when the global design glitterati and local dignitaries gather for the highly anticipated World Design City Design Gala, one of six signature events taking place as part of the programme for World Design Capital Cape Town 2014. Here, amongst the beautiful collectibles of the Guild Fair, the bi-annual winner of the Impact prize for design will be announced and the inaugural Western Cape Design Awards – set to become an annual feature on the local events calendar and part of the legacy for WDC 2014 – will be launched.

But never fear, if, like me, your invitation to the gala is strangely absent but you happen to be in the Mother City this weekend, I can highly recommend a visit to the Castle of Good Hope for one of the alfresco Design Indaba Film Festival screenings. Who knew that a place relegated to the school tour section of my brain could provide such a perfect setting for an evening of balmy-aired culture?